


Unexpected Consequences

by ByTheDawn



Series: Stolen Moments [12]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-02-03 21:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1757353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ByTheDawn/pseuds/ByTheDawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the <a href="http://swanqueenweek.tumblr.com/">Swan Queen Week + Summer 2014</a>. Day one: Awkward Situation.</p><p>Mary Margaret comes home with some excellent gossip that has Emma's head reeling: Regina might be pregnant, but as far as Emma knows, Regina hasn't been with anyone but her...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Consequences

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, yes, this is a feel-good fic. No worries! This one is for Jess, who wanted me to _finally_ tackle the magical baby trope.

“Emma! Emma!” Mary Margaret’s excited shout spooked Emma Swan to such a degree that the bear claw she had just indulgently sat down for fell from her hands into the box below, and she swirled around on the spot at the kitchen counter of her parents’ apartment. She guiltily wiped her hands on her pants before she remembered she wasn’t a teenager sneaking in sugary goodness—and that she was allowed her damn bear claw. She straightened out and tried to mould her face into indulgent indifference, waiting for her mother to close the door, drop a bunch of grocery bags onto the counter after crossing the apartment floor, and turn to her. 

Mary Margaret looked beyond excited. There was a blush to her features and a twinkle in her eyes, and Emma’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. She knew that look—she had seen it a lot in the first few months after she had come to Storybrooke—that was Mary Margaret’s gossip look. 

“Oh God, who’s pregnant now.” Emma gruffly asked, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance before bringing her bear claw back up to her lips and taking a bite. Truthfully, she enjoyed gossip sessions with her mother, although they had been a lot more fun pre curse-break number one. The old Mary Margaret had been a hoot. Instead of an excited reply, though, Mary Margaret’s joy died a speedy death, and she suddenly looked more like someone had run over her puppy. Uh-oh, that could only mean one thing: her bemused guess had been entirely correct, and she had taken the wind out of Mary Margaret’s sails. 

“No way, someone’s pregnant? Who’s pregnant?” Emma asked, now genuinely interested in the reply. Mary Margaret couldn’t resist gossip, not even gossip that had been spoiled for her. Sitting down on a stool next to Emma, she leaned in conspiratorially, laying a hand on Emma’s arm. Okay, that meant that it wasn’t some random fairy-tale character that had somehow made it back through with her parents during the last curse. This was someone who Emma actually knew. She racked her brain but came up empty. Ruby, maybe, but Mary Margaret wouldn’t be so excited about that—Ruby wasn’t seeing anyone, so a kid might be problematic. Maybe Ashley and Sean were expecting another child?

“Regina.” Mary Margaret said proudly—emotionally—and Emma very nearly choked on her snack. She coughed something fierce to expel the bite from her burning lungs, but in all honesty, she couldn’t even care about _that_ : Regina was pregnant. Regina. Was. Pregnant. What the hell? She dropped the bear claw as she hurriedly scrambled to the door, suddenly on fire.

Regina and her were complicated. After that snafu of bringing Marian back to this timeline and ruining pretty much any shot at happiness with Robin Regina’d had, Emma had bent over backwards to stay out of the brunette’s way, cowardly deciding that avoidance was the best (ab)solution to her guilt. She drowned her feelings in Hook so she wouldn’t have to feel and think, dodged all phone calls, and Henry became a reluctant conduit for her conversations with his other mother. Needless to say, avoidance only got her so far, and Regina had soon grown tired of her antics. When she had dropped Henry off at the curb for what felt like the hundredth time instead of walking him to the door like a normal human being, Regina had stormed out, had magically caused the engine of her Bug to stall, and had dragged Emma out of her car and inside for a long sit-down.

Regina could actually be quite reasonable when she wasn’t angry or hurt, but seeing as both were firmly on the forefront of her emotional state that day, talking to her had felt like talking to a hurricane and even Henry had been wise enough to disappear upstairs. 

They had eaten pizza together that evening, and after the shit storm had died down, Emma had found herself enjoying the conversation and company. Henry, obviously, was over the moon so when she had dropped him off the next time, she had taken him to the door and had been invited in. Regina had cooked that time. The third time, Regina had allowed Emma access to her kitchen, and by the time Emma had left around two AM, Regina had watched her go with lipstick-smeared lips from a long overdue kiss. 

That had been about three months ago, months filled—amongst other things—with a small ice-age that Emma didn’t even want to think back to. She had taken Henry to see Frozen while in New York, for God sakes; to see the woman icing her way through town had been too much. Mary Margaret had been personally offended that Emma hadn’t known the story of ‘Frozen’ was based on some obscure Scandinavian tale about a snow queen and some kids, but even Henry’s ‘truest believer’-powers had failed in accepting Elsa’s presence in Storybrooke. 

The point was: no one but Henry knew, but Emma and Regina were pretty solidly together, and Emma knew for a fact that Regina hadn’t slept with Robin in the week they had been together—although they had gotten close. That meant there was only one way Regina could be pregnant right now: she’d cheated on Emma. Of course, Emma was ignoring the fact that they hadn’t actually _stated_ they were exclusive or anything, but Emma had dumped Hook on his ass yet again right after that first kiss with Regina, and she’d only slept with Regina since, so… yeah, she was ticked off.

“I have to go.” She gasped out, stumbling as she grabbed her keys and jacket on the way out. Mary Margaret stared at her in complete shock, and followed her to the door—knowing that she would never be able to get Neal awake, dressed, and travel-ready before Emma was long gone. 

“Emma, wait!” Mary Margaret called out, but Emma didn’t listen. With a brain set to a single-minded focus, she took the stairs three steps at a time, bursting out into the daylight panting heavily. She was in her car and on the road long before her breath was recovered, and by the time she reached the mayoral mansion, she was livid and hurt, moved far beyond common thought. When it came to her emotions, Emma only expressed them in one of two ways: not, or all at once.

“Regina! Regina, open the damn door!” She yelled against said object as her fist impacted onto white painted wood. She’d run the Bug onto the curb and had jumped out, having just enough clarity of mind to turn the engine off and take her keys. She had rushed the path to the front door and now she waited, buzzing anxiously, for the older brunette to open the hell up. Regina did, a shell-shocked expression on her features, and Emma pushed inside, causing Regina to close the door behind her as dark eyes took in raised shoulders, wild hair, and a murderous glare.

“Who’s is it?” Emma demanded. “Who did you fuck?!”

“Excuse me?” Regina asked, instantly igniting in righteous indignation. “I suggest you calm yourself, Miss Swan, while you are in _my house_.”

“Oh, it’s ‘Miss Swan’ again now, huh? Typical. What is also typical is that I had to hear from my _mother_ that you’re pregnant? What the hell, Regina!” She yelled, hands flying every which away as she accented every word in her rage. She felt betrayed—the one person she had actually _let in_ had gone behind her back and let her down… _again_. She had expected more anger from Regina, but instead, Regina froze, face set in guilt and confusion.

“Your mother…? How…? Oh… Emma, no, no! It’s not what you think. I-I might be pregnant, yes. I missed my period—two times now—but I haven’t been with anyone. I didn’t tell you because… well, if I am pregnant… it’s yours.” Regina rushed out, hands coming up appeasingly, trying to placate the fuming woman before her. 

Emma felt herself go entirely numb, her anger draining from her at the statement. She scrutinised Regina’s face and found no trace of a lie there. Regina believed what she was saying and the way she wrung her hands told Emma she was nervous and miserable under the weight of what was happening to her. It broke her heart a little that Regina had already suffered in silence under the possibility of a pregnancy for at least a month, maybe two already.

“What…?” She asked dumbfounded. She ran Regina’s words through her mind again. _Maybe pregnant, two times, yours_ —hers. Hers? It was about that time that Emma’s high school biology lessons finally kicked in.

“Okay, Regina, seriously… I _know_ you believe that me getting you pregnant is something that can actually happen, but you do know I don’t have guy parts, right? I literally _can’t_ get you pregnant. That’s not how it works.” Emma tried delicately, but with urgency in her voice, still unable to commit to the fact that Regina might not have betrayed her. 

Taking a steadying breath, she observed the older brunette as she hung herself against the small table she always kept her keys and handbag on. Regina seemed serious—like actually, really, positively, serious. This wasn’t some elaborate joke her and Emma’s mother had concocted. Regina honestly thought that Emma—with her plumbing—could have knocked her up. If she didn’t want to cry so much, Emma would have laughed, and it would have been positively manic. Even now, her heartbeat was drowning out any other sound in the house. She swallowed heavily as Regina took a firm breath of air.

“Emma… there is a way… a chance…” Regina said softly, locking eyes with her and trying to imprint on her that she was telling the truth. “I didn’t consider it because… well… I always thought Daniel was…”

“Was…?” Emma interrupted as Regina faltered, and Regina sighed, wrapping both hands around the edge of the table, knuckles going white under the force of her grip.

“True Love.” Regina deadpanned a tad uncertainly, and once more, the world fell out under Emma’s feet. She was getting pretty fed up with the True Love thing, to be honest. Was there anything True Love _couldn’t_ do? 

“You’re kidding me right now.” She concluded, and Regina had the audacity to smirk while Emma felt her panic levels rise to such a height that she was sure she was having a heart attack. The idea that she may have actually gotten Regina pregnant was too much to deal with at the moment. Her mind refused to contemplate the consequences; Regina and her were hardly even together—they totally weren’t out, and there hadn’t been any big declarations. That said, the time she had spent with Regina since that kiss had been… amazing, in a word. If there was actually a possibility of this being true, Emma found herself not averse to the idea.

“I’m not.” Regina swore. “Please don’t ask me about the biology of it, but there have been stories of female couples conceiving together—without outside help—because of True Love.” 

“What stories? Who were these people, Gina, and why didn’t I read about them growing up? Where is their Disney movie?” Emma questioned, voice still way higher and firmer than usual as she begun to pace the hallway, this whole thing hitting her hard—probably because she had never even expected it. She felt cheated David hadn’t sat her down to have the ‘you might knock up your girlfriend if you have True Love with her’-talk.

“Well, I would tell you the long-standing tale of heteronormativity and how many cultural myths were reinforced by the acceptance of male dominance—and reinforced male dominance in return—but I think I can suffice by saying ‘men didn’t care’.” Regina told her, and suddenly Emma ran out of panicky wiggle room for her denial. The truth of Regina’s words hit her smack in the face and she froze to the spot.

“I got you pregnant.” She deadpanned, and Regina smiled. Emma realized that Regina—underneath her fear and desperate desire for Emma to stop squeaking in panic—was very excited about the prospect of a child.

“You _may have_ gotten me pregnant. I just went out to get a test; your mother must have seen me purchase it.” Regina answered. “Time was almost up before you came crashing in accusing me of cheating on you.”

“Yeah… sorry about that; I didn’t know that True Love could get you pregnant! If you _are_ pregnant, do you know what that means?” Emma asked, slowly feeling her panic lift as she finally considered the ramifications of this bombshell. Regina’s expression faltered, and she nervously licked her lips.

“I-I don’t know. I would like to keep it but you don’t have to—” Regina started, and Emma’s head spun towards her so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

“What? No! Regina, no, sorry!” She rushed out, feeling a joyous grin split her face in two as she wrapped her mind around the actual pregnancy and not her fear over how the possible child had come to be. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound negative. If you _are_ pregnant, then of course we’re keeping it! Regina, if you’re pregnant, then we are _True Love_! That is… that’s… wow!”

Finally closing the distance between them, Emma effortlessly pulled Regina into her, then up, as joy flooded her fried brain. She’d known she was in love with Regina—that had been obvious from day one—but True Love? That was something else entirely. And a baby! Okay, sure she was petrified, but how hard could it be? She was taking care of Neal pretty decently, and Regina had done this before. They would be fine. No, what she was shocked about was that Regina and her could have True Love so strong they had broken every applicable natural law known to man and may have created a _baby_ together! That was some damn strong love!

“We should check the test. We should check the test and see if you are pregnant.” She pushed reverently as she set Regina down after making her squeal indignantly by spinning her around. She was fine with that squeal, and she was also fine with the way Regina clung to her as if she had been afraid this would cost her their relationship. Oh, fuck. “Wait—wait. Did you think I would, like, leave you or something?”

“Yes.” Regina admitted, not meeting her eyes. The pee stick somewhere in the house was forgotten as Emma cupped Regina’s cheek and forced her to meet her eyes. “I thought you wouldn’t believe me. You didn’t grow up in the Enchanted Forest, you grew up here—you could have thought I was covering up some fling. I’m not, Emma, please believe me. I’ve been entirely faithful to you since our first kiss.” 

“Me too.” Emma admitted, and Regina smiled. “I believe you. I mean, I want to see what the test says, but I believe you when you say that there have been stories and that you could be pregnant because of True Love. Remember, I always know when you’re telling the truth—as insane as it is.” 

Regina smiled a watery smile at that, still pressed close into Emma’s body, arms around the blonde’s neck. They stared at each other for long moments before Regina leaned in to kiss her and Emma met her half way, drinking deeply from the soft lips against hers. She realized she had only been so angry at Regina when she had thought she was pregnant because she was deadly afraid of losing the brunette—or, more accurately, being left again. Knowing she wasn’t going to be left, or leave, well, now her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest for entirely different reasons.

“We should check the test.” Regina mumbled against her lips, and Emma hummed. 

“Let’s check the test.” She whispered back, and met watery dark eyes that displayed so much outward affection that she felt her heart swell another three sizes. Lacing their hands together, Emma took a deep breath. “Ready?” 

Regina nodded, and they set themselves into motion, traversing the steps to Regina’s private bathroom together. Emma spotted the stick on the edge of the sink and swallowed heavily, suddenly nervous. If the test was negative, then nothing would change—they would go on like before, fitting well together, and enjoying being a family with Henry—but if the test was positive… well… then that would change everything. True Love, a baby, a whole new life for all of them. Emma was suddenly afraid to find out the result, but not sure which one of the outcomes she feared more. As Regina hesitantly stepped forward, though, she pulled her back.

“Can I…?” She asked, and Regina nodded, smiling softly. Emma swallowed, focussing back on the stick. She took the two steps into the small bathroom she needed to reach it, and found her hand trembling when she reached out. It was a simple plastic stick with a purple top and a small display with an even smaller marking on it. Glancing back at Regina wide-eyed, she licked her lips.

“It’s a plus-sign. What does a plus sign mean?” Emma asked, heart pounding so hard in her chest that she wondered if she would be able to hear Regina’s answer over the loudness of it. She realized she wanted the test to be positive—she wanted the True Love and the baby and the family. She wanted all of it—with Regina. She didn’t have to worry about hearing Regina’s answer; the way Regina’s eyes lit up and her entire posture relaxed even as she rushed forward to engulf her in a strong hug was enough: a plus-sign meant that Regina was pregnant. They had created a True Love baby! With her heart in her throat, Emma wrapped her arms around the brunette tightly, holding her close as they cried tears of joy, exchanging sloppy kisses before Regina checked the result for herself.

“I’m pregnant.” She whispered reverently, and Emma grinned.

“Forget that, I’m the king of the world! I got a girl pregnant!” Emma huffed proudly, and got a shove to her chest in reply.

“Not just any girl, Miss Swan.” Regina sassed, but her voice softened dramatically with the next words. “Your True Love.”

“My True Love. You are my True Love. Well, we’ve got evidence of that now, don’t we?” Emma commented dryly, but her heart was overflowing. Her mind was entirely blown and she had a terrible headache, but there wasn’t a trace of negativity inside of her. She wanted this—her family, with Henry and Regina, and the little baby growing inside of her True Love.

“That we do…” Regina sassed happily, leaning into her and allowing Emma to wrap her up entirely. 

“I know we haven’t even said it before, and it feels a little stupid saying it now we know all of this, but I love you, Regina. I think I probably have since I met you.”

“I love you, too, Emma. Thank you, for this beautiful gift of a little girl to brighten our lives.” Regina said softly, bringing Emma’s hand to her absolutely flat stomach. There wasn’t much there, for sure, but just knowing that there was life growing under the skin and muscle was enough. It took a while for Regina’s words to land, but then Emma’s brow furrowed on its own accord.

“Wait—a little girl? How do you know?” She asked stupidly, turning the test in her hand over to see if the sex of the child was perhaps on a display on the back. Regina laughed, taking the stick from her.

“Well, some biology _does_ apply.” She started. “We’re both women, so the logical outcome of magically mixing our chromosomes is another girl.”

“Okay, yeah, if you suddenly want to start applying _logic_ to a situation where we’re talking about a magically created baby then sure, that sounds totally logical. Sorry for, you know, not knowing the details of magical baby making.” Emma huffed, but there was amusement in her voice and on her features, and Regina laughed, shaking her head before cupping Emma’s cheek and kissing her deeply. 

“I love you.” She repeated against her lips, and Emma parroted the words, knowing she had never meant them as much as she meant them now. She was going to be a mother… father… _parent_ , again, and this time, she would be there to take care of their little girl. Not a do-over, but an addition to her already perfect family.

The sound of birds rising from the back pocket of her jeans popped the bubble of positive emotional turmoil Emma had found herself in, and Regina groaned as well, recognising the ringtone. She planted her head into Emma’s chest, and Emma kept one hand tightly around her as the other fumbled for the phone. Needless to say, the sound of chirping birds was her mother’s ringtone—a nod to the Disney movie about her.

“Mom, hey… yeah… no, everything is okay. I, uhhh… so, here’s the thing. Regina is, indeed, pregnant. Yeah, I know! Very exciting. Uhhh… mom, maybe you could sit down a moment? Okay, you’re really seated, right? Good because Regina’s baby… it’s mine. Well, half of it. The other half is Regina’s, although not in a weird ‘you can split it down the middle’-kind of way. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you but… Regina and I, we’ve sort of been seeing each other? Well, it seems that what we have is True Love, because… surprise!” Emma rambled, listening to Mary Margaret’s short answers all the while. Now, Mary Margaret was completely silent—in fact, after telling her mother that the kid was hers, Mary Margaret hadn’t uttered more than a high pitched mix between a groan and an outcry. 

“Mom…? Are you okay?” She asked, and finally caught the sound of heavy breathing on the other end of the line. Regina was staring at her now, smirking slightly, but also worried. Emma usually found a great source of amusement in the loving animosity between Regina and her mother, but now she just rolled her eyes at it.

“Mom…?” She tried again, and this time, she heard a startled gasp and the sound of something being ruffled.

“Emma, yes. Yes. I-I… wow… so… pregnant… True Love… Well… I just remembered, I forgot to buy milk. Could you buy milk when you come home? Okay, thank you! Bye!” Mary Margaret all but shrieked, and the line went dead. Emma pulled the phone from her ear and checked the display to see if she was really disconnected. She was.

“What did she say?” Regina enquired. 

“She asked me to buy milk.” Emma deadpanned with wide eyes. Regina shrugged.

“Well, that could have been far worse.” The brunette concluded, and Emma found herself grinning, shaking her head as she drew Regina in for another long kiss. She would deal with her mother’s nervous breakdown later; right now she had better things to do like stripping Regina naked and examining very inch of her with her mouth and fingers to see if True Love had any other hidden powers. After that, they would pick Henry up from school and tell him about the baby sister that was coming, and then they were going to start the dual process of coming out and making sure the baby was okay. 

They hadn’t talked about coming out before, but Emma hadn’t been opposed to it for a while now. With the baby on the way—holy shit, there was a baby on the way!—coming out was going to be a necessity, because Emma knew one thing for certain: she was moving out of the inn and into the mansion as soon as she could. She was going to be here for every weird food craving, for every much needed massage, for every spot of morning sickness and every one of Henry’s jealous or envious temper tantrum. She was going to be right here to take care of her family, and this time, she wasn’t going to screw it up.


End file.
